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Hit & Run Drunk Driver Sentenced for Killing Pedestrian, Blowing Past DUI Checkpoint
Peralta's damaged Mustang (Photo courtesy LASD)
A drunk driver who fatally struck a pedestrian then motored right on through a DUI checkpoint without stopping has been sentenced today to serve 16 years in state prison.Isidro Peralta, 26, pleaded guilty in October to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and perjury, with a special allegation of fleeing the scene, according to Deputy District Attorney Susan Choi, reports City News Service.
Peralta was suspected of causing trouble behind the wheel the night of April 29, 2011, when Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputies at a DUI checkpoint in Lancaster heard the telltale sound of squealing tires. The deputies' attention was drawn to a black 1996 For Mustang making a turn, then driving right past the checkpoint, according to the LASD.
What also caught the authorities' suspicion was the Mustang's shattered windshield, and one headlight out. Two deputies got into their patrol car and went after the Mustang, pulling Peralta over soon after in a traffic stop. In speaking with Peralta, the deputies suspected he was under the influence of alcohol, and detained him.
A closer look at the Mustang yielded the discovery of fresh blood on the front bumper and smashed windshield. They radioed a call out to send sputies in the direction from which the Mustang had come, indicating they believed Peralta was a hit-and-run driver.
The body of 50-year-old Curly Junior Ross was found after a quick search. Ross was pronounced dead at the scene, and Peralta was arrested.
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